Tibet Activists urge downstream nation to push China to form Brahmaputra water treaty with India and Bangladesh

Leh – Ladakh, 24 September: Tibet activist Lobsang Tseten and the Indus Calling team from Students for a Free Tibet – India travelled to Leh, Ladakh as a part of the “Tibet’s Rivers, Asia’s Lifeline” campaign to call attention to the Indus river on International Rivers Day.

Students for a Free Tibet – India launched the campaign “Tibet’s Rivers, Asia’s Lifeline” on 22 March, 2015. As a part of the campaign, on 14 March 2016, the International Day of Action for Rivers, a team from SFT India visited Guwahati in Assam to highlight the unending torrent of hydropower and mining projects built by China on the Tibet.

This year, SFT India dispatched our Indus Calling team to Ladakh, to learn about the Indus Waters Treaty signed between India and Pakistan on 16 September 1960. The treaty is considered one of the most successful water sharing treaties in the world.

For 2017 World Rivers Day, we urge all the downstream countries to push China to form a similar treaty for the Brahmaputra River (In Tibetan: Yarlung Tsangpo) or a basin organisation with India and Bangladesh. Over 500 million lives are dependent on this river and the unending series of hydro engineering projects and additional construction plans on the Tibetan plateau will not only destroy the fragile eco-system of Tibet but also seed conflict with downstream nations.

“The treaty is one exemplary way to show that even though India and Pakistan do not have the best of Diplomatic relations they still found common ground when it comes to the Indus river.” said Lobsang Tseten, Campaigns Director of Students for a Free Tibet, India.

The Indus Calling team has documented their journey to Ladakh to visit the Indus river. A series of videos on their trip was uploaded on SFT India’s facebook page and Youtube channel with the hashtag #Induscalling.

Students for a Free Tibet works in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. We are a chapter-based network of young people and activists around the world. Through education, grassroots organizing, and nonviolent direct action, we campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom.